Consumers, Estate Agents and Redress Bill [HL]

My Lords, the noble Baroness mentioned my name in connection with the amendment because at the previous stage I intervened to query the relationship between Clauses 17 and 18. As I understand it—with the aid of a letter that the Minister sent to the noble Baroness, Lady Wilcox, the Liberal Democrat spokesman the noble Baroness, Lady Miller of Chilthorne Domer, and me, which is available in the Library—Clause 17 is on the general power of the National Consumer Council to, "““prepare a report in relation to any matter falling within the scope of its functions””." It goes on to say: "““The Council may publish any report prepared under this section””." That is the broad and expected facility of the National Consumer Council and its role. Clause 18, which I understand better now from the Minister’s letter than I had previously done, is rather special. It is a special situation where the Secretary of State, involved in some particular consumer problem, wants the advice of the National Consumer Council and wants, within a specified period a report on some matter relating to consumer affairs. The clause states: "““The Secretary of State may publish any report submitted under this section””." I would put it like this. In Clause 18, the National Consumer Council is being specially approached by the Secretary of State for a special governmental purpose, and in effect that report is then in the ownership of the Government as distinct from the National Consumer Council on this special occasion. A discretion should be retained by the Secretary of State because the possibility is that that report, if it is to be full, extensive and what the Secretary of State wants to assist his work, may contain price-sensitive or other information that it is undesirable should be made public either then or generally. It seems to me that Clause 18 is a very special power of the Secretary of State to require reports of the NCC. It does not in any way inhibit the normal independence of the National Consumer Council from the Government, and rather, especially in the case of price-sensitive information, the Government wish to retain discretion over what is published. I did not fully understand that when I intervened in the earlier debate, but it seems to me to make a lot of sense. I do not support the amendment.